A suspected US missile strike hit the home of a Taliban commander in north-western Pakistan today, killing at least five militants, officials said.

Authorities in Pakistan were today investigating a suicide bombing that killed 16 people before a rally, the latest in a series of violent incidents since the army stormed a mosque held by Islamic extremists.

Pakistani security forces backed by helicopter gunships struck a militant hide-out today in a tribal region near the Afghan border, killing about three dozen fighters, including a Chechen commander linked to al-Qaida, an army official said.